Max Max and Everyone Inbetween
by Sam-453
Summary: Dark Angel/ Roswell crossover. Roswell shifted to meet DA time. Max hears about the girl who walked away from a bullet to the stomach in Roswell.
1. Roswell

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of dark angel or Roswell

Notes: ok, this is updated for all you peeps who don't watch Roswell. I thought it would be amusing to confuse you with the whole Max/Max name confusion (the main character in Roswell is a _guy_ called Max.) but people have given me v.confused reviews, so here we are. Max Guevara is NOT kissing another girl, it starts with _Roswell_ Max! The rest you can work out yourself.

                As they embraced, Max moved the kiss from her mouth to her cheek, then slowly down her neck, circling her. As he reached the back of her neck, brushing he hair out of the way, he drew back. She realised her mistake the same moment, and spun round.

                "Liz, what is that? You have a tattoo?!" Max exclaimed.

                "Err, yeah, I do." She didn't know what else to say. Max laughed shortly, surprised,

                "Since when? How come you never showed me?" Liz wouldn't meet his eyes as he spoke, and still failed to as she answered,

                "I've had it for ages. I never showed you because I hide it. I hate it." Max looked confused.

                "So why don't you get it removed?" This time Liz held her tongue. _Somehow I don't think 'I can't, it's etched into my genetic code' will go down too well_, she thought.

                "I, err, I can't afford it." She nodded, willing Max to believe that this was truly the reason. He laughed again, knowing Liz barely ever lied, and therefore not even considering that this was not the truth.

                "But Liz," he smiled, "I can probably do it." Liz was about to say that she didn't think even he should be messing around with a laser when she realised what he meant. She'd been so wound up in covering her own secret that she'd totally forgotten about his. _My god!_ She thought, _it might just work!_

                "I didn't even think about it." She breathed, almost in shock. Max didn't understand why Liz was so amazed at the thought. "Do it." Liz said, turning around and lifting up her hair. He nodded.

                "Does your dad know about it? I think he'd freak!" Max laughed. Liz didn't answer. Her Dad did know about it. He also knew it couldn't be removed in the normal way. But he didn't know why, no one here did. "You ready?" Max asked, not reading anything into her silence. Liz just repeated,

                "Do it." Max placed his hand over the black mark and it began to glow bright white. After a minute, Liz started to feel a burning sensation on her neck, that got hotter and hotter with every second, "Ow." She winced. "Ow, ow, Max stop. Oh god, stop!" she shrieked, pulling away and slapping her hand across her searing neck. Max was shocked.

                "Are you ok?" Liz didn't answer, she hadn't realised that anything could hurt like that. It actually hurt even more than the laser removal, which felt like acid being poured over her skin. Of course her parents didn't know how much it had hurt, even at the age of ten she'd been very resistant to pain. Max touched her neck gently, silently asking her to move her hand. She did as he requested, and Max gasped. Touching it carefully, his cold fingers soothing, he whispered,

                "I don't understand! It's still there! Liz, I'm so sorry."

                "It's ok." Liz replied, her heart sinking, "It was a long shot anyway." A look of dawning suspicion crossed Max's face.

                "It's more than just a tattoo, isn't it?"

                "I don't know what you mean." Liz snapped back. "I'm tired, I'm going home."

                "Liz!" Max grabbed her arm, pulling her back, "Talk to me!" Liz fought her instinct to throw him across the room, but un nerved by how quickly those instincts returned after just such a small incident, she wanted out quickly. She took hold of his wrist in a vice like grip, a strength she hadn't used in years.

                "Let go, Max. Now." She said, slowly. He did, shock at her strength preventing him from following when she walked away without another word.

                                                         . . . . .

                "Hey Max."

                "Hey, how're ya doing?" she smiled at him.

                "Good, you?" she nodded. "Hey, you should see this." He passed her a strip of newspaper. She began to read as he summarised. "It's from a few years back, but there's reports of some really odd stuff going down in Roswell, New Mexico. They blame it on aliens." He grinned broadly. "I've heard tonnes of rumours about that place.

                "Girl got shot, walked away minutes later, weird. Government types hangin' around now an' then, you're thinking this could be transgenic related?" she looked up at him.

                "Well aren't you? I don't know of any full-human who could walk easily away after a bullet wound to the gut." Max grimaced.

                "Ew. But I agree. We should check it out." He nodded, and she continued, "Mole an' everyone can take care of stuff here for a few days."

                "Logan won't want you to go. He'll think it's too risky."

                "I'll think what's too risky?" Alec nearly jumped out of his skin. Max grinned, letting him know that she knew of Logan's presence. They told Logan about the report.

                "I agree, you should check it out."

                "Only saying that to contradict me." Alec mumbled in a voice only he and Max could hear. Max laughed.

                "What?" Logan asked.

                "Nothing. Alecs bein' a pratt." 

                "Hey!" Alec elbowed her gently. "That's not fair!" she raised her eyebrows.

                "Is too." She walked away with Logan before he could retaliate, flashing him a last, taunting smile.

                Several hours later, Max and Alec were speeding down the motorway, heading for Roswell.

                                                             . . . . .

                "Liz?" Max called out, knocking gingerly.

                "Max? Hey, come in." She smiled at him. After a short silence, she gave in. "I'm sorry I was snappy yesterday. It was totally uncalled for." Max shook his head.

                "Forget about it. I'm sorry I couldn't help." Liz gazed into his eyes, thinking of all the times they'd had together. Yesterday, she'd almost left that all behind in her panic. But now she was so glad she hadn't. God, how she loved him. Snapping out of her 'I love Max' daydream, she realised she was running late.

                "Oh crap, I have to get to the crashdown!"

                "I'll give you a ride." She smiled in thanks, both of them forgetting completely the questions raised the night before.

                                                                  . . . . .

                Max and Alec arrived in Roswell early the next afternoon.

                "The girl was working in a café. 'Crashdown.'" He grinned, finding the entire aliens thing very amusing. Max smiled at his immaturity. I truth, it was one of the things she liked most about him.

                On entering the café, Max went straight to the counter. A blond, wearing an alien themed waitress uniform greeted her.

                "Hi, welcome to the crashdown, can I get you something?" Max smiled at her,

                "Hi. You might be able to get me some_one_. I'm looking for a girl named Liz Parker." The blond looked a little shocked, 

                "Err, sure, well she's… I'll be back in a minute." She disappeared through the back and soon returned with another girl. The second was quite short, with long dark hair and an innocent smile, but she wore the same uniform. Max's heartbeat quickened the second she saw her, but she was also aware of a guy who had followed them through and was watching her very suspiciously.

                "Can I help you?" the second girl asked. Unable to keep the smile off her face, Max asked,

                "You Liz Parker?" the girl nodded. "Then I think so. I heard a rumour that you once got shot." She took no time getting to the point. Liz was very taken aback. "Hey, don't freak." Max continued, "I just wanna ask you a couple of questions." In her peripheral vision, Max could see the guy talking to another, who looked very pissed, and was coming over. "Look, all I heard was that you walked away from a gunshot wound minutes after. I just wanna know if that's true." Liz didn't answer, and the guy reached them.

                "Who are you?" he demanded. "What do you want?"

                "Michael, cool it. OK?" Liz finally spoke. Max registered that Alec was right behind her. He'd joined her the moment the angry guy turned up. Liz came out from behind the counter and spoke only to Max. "Come over here. We can talk. _Alone_." The last bit was stressed and the others got the idea, but not one of them was happy about it. Moving to a table, Liz resumed the conversation. "So, what do you want?"

                "Exactly what I said. Just a couple of answers. I've been shot myself, an' I know that most people don't just walk away."

                "Then yes. It's true. But the bullet just skimmed me, that's how come I could walk away." She wasn't meeting Max's eyes, and she mumbled the answer. Max laughed shortly.

                "You're a bad liar." Liz's head snapped up.

                "What the hell makes you think I'm lying?" she met Max's eyes without even meaning to, and a look of confused recognition crossed her face. Max smiled.

                "Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Max." Liz's face lit up in barely believing joy.

                "Max?"

                "Yeah, Max, _Liz_." Liz let out a joyous squeal as she hugged the other girl across the table.

                "Max! Oh my god-Max!" Max hugged her back, laughing. The four onlookers were all confused, even Alec, thought not for so long. As the girls pulled apart, Alec made his way over, ignoring the annoyed yells of  'Hey!' from behind him. Max beamed up at him.

"Sis, meet Alec." At the look of recognition, she added, "He's Ben's Twin. Alec, this is my sister, Jondi."


	2. Satellite TV

"Come again?" asked Michael as they all followed Alec over.

                "Your sister?!" Maria cried.

                "Liz?" asked Max. Liz took a deep breath, looking at her sister for support.

                "Ok. Yeah. Max is my sister." Several pairs of eyebrows flew up, and Michael grinned at his friend. Maria slapped him on the back of the head.

                "She's talking about that girl, space boy!" she snapped. Liz chuckled.

                "yeah, um, her name is Max." then to her sister, "He's called Max too." She gestured to the first guy Max had seen following them through from the back. "Err, I'm just gonna call you Maxie, to avoid confusion. K baby sis?" Maxi smiled her consent to Liz.

                "So now, YOUR SISTER?!" Maria repeated. Liz laughed again.

                "Hey, calm down. Look, we're not technically sisters. But we grew up together, and it always seemed that way. Y'know? It's always felt like we were sisters. But I haven't seem Maxie since I was nine."

                "But why didn't you say anything?" Maria seemed hurt, and  slipped into the seat next to Liz. Liz swallowed,

                "It's a very long story." She looked up at Maxie, as if to ask permission, even though she was the older sister.

                "Why not?" shrugged Maxie, "Hell, the rest of America already knows." Liz looked both shocked and confused.

                "What?! What do you mean?"

                "Don't you guys watch TV?" asked Alec. Max answered.

                "There barely is any. Roswell has been pretty much cut off since the pulse, and no-one can afford satellite TV." Liz had gone very pale, realising she'd missed something big.

                "Maxie, what's happened?"

                "A lot, sis. A hell of a lot. Manticore is gone, everyone's out, or rather everyone that made it. Rumours started to spread about us, as you can imagine. The government denied all knowledge until a piece of sh*t named Ames White decided to tell everyone about us. Oh, and of course he also told them that we're monstrous killers who need to be wiped out at any cost. The, mobs loved that." Maxie's voice became more and more bitter as she spoke.

                "But Maxie…"

                "No. Hold it right there Liz. What the hell are you guys talking about?!" Liz realised that her three friends were all looking completely lost. Another deep breath,

                "Alright, I guess I should begin by telling you that I'm adopted." This in itself raised plenty of eyebrows, but she continued. "My parents found me when I was nine, a few months after I escaped form a place called Manticore. It was a secret government programme in which they used recombinant DNA to create genetically enhanced superior soldiers." She was interrupted by two people rushing up to the group.

                "Oh my god! You heard about it too!?" shrieked Isabelle. "Me and Kyle were at the store, where they've managed to hook up a satellite dish! It's amazing! Apparently we aren't the only freaks in this screwed up world! Every channel is talking about all this sh*t going down in Seattle!" Maxie's eyes went wide,

                "What kind of sh*t?"

                "Who's this?" Isabelle asked, noticing Maxie and Alec for the first time.

                "Never mind that, answer the question." Said Liz.

                "Well there's all those genetically enhanced thingy's Liz was…"

                "We know that!" said Maxie impatiently. "what's going on?"

                "Well, there's all these protestors and cops trying to break into this area they've like, taken over." Maxie and Alec glanced at each other,

                "Terminal city!" Maxie breathed, even as she was vaulting over the back of the seat in one movement. Alec followed her towards the door, and Liz leapt spectacularly over the table to join them.

                "Maxie, wait!" Maxie turned to her sister's voice.

                "Sis I can't. I have to go. Now."

                "But Max, I don't understand what's happening! You have to explain! And you need to consider what you're doing, make a plan! It sounds to me like you'll get yourself killed if you just rush in there!"

                "Yeah?" spat Maxie, "Well there are people in there that I care about! Some of them aren't even transgenic! They're just ordinary people and I have to help them!" Bewildered, the other Max approached them.

                "Liz, what are you talking about? Can we help?" Maxie snorted.

                "Maxie, just wait one minute, ok?" Liz turned to Max. "What I was saying was that I am one of those soldiers. The barcode, that just proves it. You couldn't get rid of it cos its written into my genetic code. I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you, even after everything you told me, but it was just too dangerous."

                "Too dangerous?" Michael exclaimed. "Liz, we have the skins on our asses, and the government, and this was too dangerous?!"

                "Michael! This goes so much deeper than you can possibly understand! This is deeper than government UFO operations! They've been hunting me half my life! None of you know the first thing about me cos I was so scared that if I was myself in any way then they would find me! You think what I've been through with you guys was scary? Well before I was nine I had seen things… even done things that would make you sick to even consider. This is way more dangerous." Her voice was shaking, and no one dared say a thing, except Alec,

                "UFO'S?" Liz didn't look at him, but almost growled,

                "Tell them Max. They're trustworthy." Max looked around at the otherwise empty café.

                "Are you s…"

                "Tell them!"

                "Ok, then, we're…"

                "Are you totally out of your mind, Maxwell?" Michael cried. "We don't even know them!"

                "You know me!" Liz yelled. "and Max is my sister. I would trust her with my life, and if she says Alec is trustworthy, then he is." Michael was furious.

                "Since when do you give orders, Parker?" he spat, making the huge mistake of grabbing her arm. She prised his hand away with a painful grip and threw him across the room.

                "Since it came out that I can do stuff like that. Max, tell them or I will." Max, stunned at what his girlfriend had just done, didn't hesitate.

                "We're the Roswell aliens." He said. Alec laughed, until Max raised a glowing hand. Maxie raised her eyebrows,

                "Cool." She said. "So you got powers then?" she was ready to believe anything after what she'd seen over the past year. Now Isabelle came forward,

                "Yes. I'm kinda confused about what exactly is going on, but I can tell you're alright, and I trust Liz like a sister, so yes, we have powers. Me, Max, and Michael." Maxie nodded.

                "Great. Now I'm going."

                "Wait." Max said. " We might be able to help." Maxie rolled her eyes.

                "Unless being an alien gives you super strength, I don't see how." She snapped, losing her patience.

                "How about this?" Max held out his hand, fingers out stretched, palm towards Michael, who was picking himself up from the floor. Michael went flying back against the far wall. Maria laughed, and Max and Alec both said,

                "Cool."

                "Also, Max has healing powers and this force field thingy, Isabelle is sorta telepathic, and there's a whole load of other stuff they can all do." Added Liz.

                "No matter what, I want to help you, Liz." Said Max.

                "Jondi." Muttered Maxie. Jondi smiled at her sister, then turned to her friends,

                "That is actually my name, Jondi. I know this is kinda weird, but it's who I used to be, and I think I'm gonna have to be that person again now. So if you could call me that… it might help if I have to get into super girl mode." Isabelle shook her head,

                "That's hat I still don't get. You've always been the sweet quiet little girly girl." Maxie held back her laugh at this description of her sister, one of the toughest of the X5 group. " I so can't see you as a super soldier." Jondi grinned wickedly at this.

                "You will." She said.


	3. Glow

                3 motorbikes roared into Seattle through a secret entrance that the transgenics had set up in order to avoid checkpoints. Maxie had Isabelle on the back, Jondi had Max, and much to both their fury, Alec had Michael, who had only agreed to come after much pleading by Isabelle. Maxie lead the way to the safe house they'd also set up.

                "We have to wait til dark, then we can sneak in." she said when they arrived. Alec, who was surveying the scene from the window of the 7th storey apartment, called over to Maxie,

                "Maybe not, Max. Come see this." Maxie joined him at the window.

                "Oh sh*t!" she exclaimed, "They found it!" she spoke of the one entrance/exit of terminal city that only transgenics knew about and could therefore still use, until now that is. "It doesn't look like they got in, but this makes things more difficult." but she grinned at Alec. "Looks like we're gonna have to do it the fun way." Only the aliens didn't understand this. Alec looked round at the confused faces and filled them in,

                "We're gonna have to go through the front door, through the protestors, cops, and national guard, thus, the fun way." He grinned.

                "Your shield will be useful." Jondi suggested to Max, who nodded.

                "And all three of us can help clear the path." Smiled Isabelle. All Maxie could think was, _Damn the media will love this! Ordinaries flying every which way and transgenics that can deflect bullets._ She let out a short laugh.

                "Whatever." She said. " But we should still wait til dark."

                Maxie split away from the group to sit in a corner, gazing out of the window. Shortly, Jondi joined her.

                "You ok baby sister?" she asked. Startled, Maxie looked up.

                "Yeah, yeah, just thinking." She smiled. Jondi sat beside her.

                "When you said there were people you cared about in there, you meant some one in particular, didn't you?" It was a statement, not a question, and Max was annoyed at how well her sister could read her.

                "Kinda." She said simply.

                "Come on! Details!" Jondi laughed. Max couldn't.

                "It's…complicated."

                "Boyfriend?"

                "No… not exactly."

                "Hmmm, not exactly? He either is or he isn't. Do you love him?"

                "Yes." Maxie breathed. "I love him. But we can't be together, ever." Jondi lost the smile.

                "Baby sis…" she said quietly, "Why?"

                "Manticore…"

                "He wont be with you because of Manticore?!" Jondi exclaimed in outrage.

                "No, no. It's not like that. That's not what I meant. Manticore put a virus in me that is genetically targeted to his DNA. If I touch him, then it transmits. If I touch the man I love, then it will kill him." Jondi was speechless. She knew how it felt to not be able to be with the one you love, but this…

                "I'm so sorry Maxie." Then it hit her. "You said it was a virus, right?" Maxie nodded, "As in something in your body that shouldn't be there?" another nod. "Then Max could heal you." Jondi gasped. Max just starred.

                "You think?" she asked. "It's engineered, it's not natural."

                "I don't think it matters, I'm not sure, but it's worth a try, right?"

                After explaining the situation to Max, they, plus Alec, headed out to a lab Maxie had found during her previous searches for a cure. Max wanted to see the virus first. The lab was abandoned, but it still had all the right equipment. Looking down a microscope at a sample of Maxie's blood, Max identified the virus.

                "Yep, that's it." Confirmed Maxie. "Can you do it?" Max bit his lip,

                "I think so. But you have to understand that I've never done this with an engineered illness before. In fact, I've never done it on a transgenic, except Li… Jondi."

                "Just do what you can." Maxie pleaded. He nodded and asked her to lie down. As she did, Maxie noticed the worried look on Alec's face. _He always acts like a pratt, but he really does care_. She thought. Somehow this comforted Maxie as she had also noticed an unpleasant sensation- she was scared. Over the past couple of years she had faced death many times, but faced with this, she was terrified. She took Alec's hand as she closed her eyes. Even though this shocked him a little, Alec sat beside her and held her hand firmly.

                "It'll be ok." He said in a voice only she could hear. Jondi was standing back, and max stood over Maxie. He held out his hands, palms down, over her heart.

                "Ready?" he asked. She nodded without opening her eyes. Max's hands began to glow white. Alec could see beads of sweat forming on his brow. He also noticed that Maxie's breath was coming quicker. As the light brightened, Maxie's grip on Alec's hand tightened, and a yell was torn from her. Alec put a hand on her forehead, smoothing back her hair, trying to comfort her.

                "Are you done?" he demanded of Max, as Maxie's body began to shake. "I think you should stop." Max kept going. Alec was furious. It pained him to see Maxie like this, but he knew that he could not force Max to stop if Maxie wasn't protesting. Eventually the light faded, and Maxie's body relaxed. All looked at her expectantly. Her eyes fluttered open, to see Alec looking terrified. She smiled.

                "It's ok." She whispered. He nodded. "Did it work?" she asked Max.

                "I hope so. I can't say for sure, but I felt it. That thing was strong, but I think I got it."

                "Let's see." Maxie said, sitting up and rolling up her sleeve.

                "Wo, wo." Interrupted Alec. "Do you think you should be taking more blood? You'll need to be strong for tonight."

                "Alec, if this has worked then nothing will keep me out of terminal city tonight. Not even the friggin' National Guard." Alec smiled, realising that she really was ok. They took another sample.

                As Max looked through the microscope, Maxie repeated,

                "Did it work?" Max came up slowly, impassively.

                "Take a look for yourself" She did, and Alec held his breath.

                "Oh my god." She said as she looked at Alec, her face emotionless. His heart sank, but seeing this in his eyes, a grin broke Maxie's features, "It worked!" she shrieked, throwing her arms around him. He hugged her tight, knowing what this meant to her. She then hugged both of the others, planting a kiss on Max's cheek. "Thank you so much!" she squealed.

                "Hey there girly!" Jondi laughed, "That space boy is mine! Get off!"

                Hours later, after night had fallen, Mole called to Logan over the control room in terminal city.

                "Logan, you should really see this." Logan watched the screen, seeing an extraordinary sight. Three motorbikes were ploughing through the crowd outside, without hitting a single person. Protestors, police, and soldiers flew out of the way in front of the bikes, and the bullets hailing down on them from every direction were deflected before they got close.

                "Oh my god!" he exclaimed, "Is that Max?"

                "Uh-huh, and Alec. Don't know who the other chick and the passengers are though." So they just watched in awe as the bikes easily reached the gates, which sprung open ahead of them and closed behind.

                Reaching cover at last, Max dropped the force field and they all whooped and cheered.

                "That rocked!" yelled Alec, "Even with you on my bike." He added turning to Michael. He ignored the comment and gave Alec a high five. Even he couldn't say anything bad about that experience. Maxie smiled. That was fun, she thought, remembering the looks on the faces of all onlookers. They all dismounted, seeing a group rushing towards them, some heavily armed.

                "It's ok guys." Maxie called out, "It's me and Alec. These guys are friends." Logan came away from the group.

                "Max, what was that?!" He asked.

                "It's complicated. Oh, and this is my sister." She grinned, "Jondi, this is Logan."

                "Jondi?" repeated Logan, knowing how much Max had wanted to find her. "Nice to meet you." He said, shaking her hand, slightly dazed. Maxie smiled at her, then turned back to Logan.

                "Now I have a surprise for you… another surprise." The grin got, if possible, broader. "Close your eyes."

                "What?"

                "You always make me! Close your eyes." Logan sighed in resignation and closed his eyes. Maxie stood on tiptoes and kissed him. His eyes flew open in shock. "Surprise." She said. Starring at his hands, realising that he was totally unaffected, Logan stuttered,

                "How?"

                "I'll explain later." She answered, wrapping her arms around his neck. He held her back and they kissed passionately. Even Alec couldn't help smiling. Jondi was almost crying, and held onto Max, who kissed the top of her head. Isabelle, overcome by the emotion of the situation, grabbed Michael and kissed him on the cheek. He just stood there, bewildered, really not getting what all the fuss was about.


	4. A Whole New Feeling

I know its in as chapter four, but its actually an alternate version of chap. 3 starting from Max and Jondi's conversation in the safe house. I don't know whether I will continue this, or the other one, or either of them, but we'll see. This goes on four two chapters so far.

"When you said there were people you cared about in there, you meant some one in particular, didn't you?" It was a statement, not a question, and Max was annoyed at how well her sister could read her.

                "Kinda." She said simply.

                "Come on! Details!" Jondi laughed. Max couldn't.

                "It's…complicated."

                "Boyfriend?"

                "No… not for a long time."

                "So an ex?"

                "More complicated than that."

                "You still love him?" Jondi said it very softly, and Maxie hated that she already knew the answer, or part of it at least.

                "Yes. I think I always will. But we aren't like that, not any more."

                "Why? If you still love him? And don't say 'it's complicated.'" Maxie smiled slightly,

                "Lotsa reasons really, but mostly cos I can't touch him."

                "He's with someone else?"

                "No. I mean literally, I can't touch him. Manticore put this virus in me, targeted to his DNA. I literally can't touch him."

                "Oh my god. Maxie, I'm so sorry." Jondi put a comforting hand on Maxie's shoulder.

                "I think maybe it's actually for the best. Not the virus, of course, but I only ever bought him pain and problems. Plus he's…" she was lost for words, "I dunno…"

                "Oh my god." Jondi exclaimed, cutting Maxie off.

                "What?"

                "It's a virus?" Maxie nodded. "As in, something inside of you that shouldn't be?" another nod. "Then Max can heal you." After a pause, Maxie turned to her sister.

                "You think?"

                "I don't see why not. It's worth a try, right?" Maxie nodded, speechless. If they got rid of the virus, then she would have to actually think about her and Logan, and she didn't know what to think. _How could they possibly just go back to the way they were before? After everything that had happened…_ Jondi cut off Maxie's thought with an excited squeal. "Come on, let's go tell Max!"

After explaining the situation to Max, they, plus Alec, headed out to a lab Maxie had found during her previous searches for a cure. Max wanted to see the virus first. The lab was abandoned, but it still had all the right equipment. Looking down a microscope at a sample of Maxie's blood, Max identified the virus.

                "Yep, that's it." Confirmed Maxie. "Can you do it?" Max bit his lip,

                "I think so. But you have to understand that I've never done this with an engineered illness before. In fact, I've never done it on a transgenic, except Li… Jondi."

                "Just do what you can." Maxie pleaded. He nodded and asked her to lie down. As she did as she was told, Maxie realised how scared she was. Over the past year, she'd faced death plenty of times, but now, faced with this strange situation, she was terrified, of what it might do to her, and of what the result might be. Maxie reached out and took Alec's hand, not noticing until a moment later that she had instinctively reached for him, and not Jondi, who was also close by. As Alec whispered,

                "It'll be ok." She felt a weird acceptance that it would be. His words made it truth. She lay there, her hand warm in Alec's, and the oddest thought hit her. There was no one she could think of that would make her feel as safe, as relaxed, and as comfortable at this moment as Alec…not even Logan. Still dazed by this thought, Maxie distantly heard Max asking her if she was ready. She nodded automatically, and he began. Max stood over her, his hands held out, palms down, over her heart.

                Max's hands began to glow white. Alec could see beads of sweat forming on his brow. He also noticed that Maxie's breath was coming quicker. As the light brightened, Maxie's grip on Alec's hand tightened, and a yell was torn from her. Alec put a hand on her forehead, smoothing back her hair, trying to comfort her.

"Are you done?" he demanded of Max, as Maxie's body began to shake. "I think you should stop." Max kept going. Alec was furious. It pained him to see Maxie like this, but he knew that he could not force Max to stop if Maxie wasn't protesting. Eventually the light faded, and Maxie's body relaxed. All looked at her expectantly. Her eyes fluttered open, to see Alec looking terrified. She smiled.

                "It's ok." She whispered. He nodded. "Did it work?" she asked Max.

                "I hope so. I can't say for sure, but I felt it. That thing was strong, but I think I got it."

                "Let's see." Maxie said, sitting up and rolling up her sleeve.

                "Wo, wo." Interrupted Alec. "Do you think you should be taking more blood? You'll need to be strong for tonight." Maxie squeezed his hand, a thank you for caring.

                "Alec, I really am ok. A tiny blood sample isn't gonna make me weak." Alec nodded again, and they took the sample.

                As Max looked through the microscope, Maxie repeated,

                "Did it work?" Max came up slowly, impassively.

                "Take a look for yourself" She did, and Alec held his breath.

                "Oh my god." She said as she looked at Alec, her face emotionless. His heart sank, but seeing this in his eyes, a grin broke Maxie's features, "It worked!" she shrieked, throwing her arms around him. He hugged her tight, knowing what this meant to her. She then hugged both of the others, planting a kiss on Max's cheek. "Thank you so much!" she squealed.

                "Hey there girly!" Jondi laughed, "That space boy is mine! Get off!" Maxie laughed, and let go. Jondi looked at her watch. "We should probably get outta here."

                "Yeah." Max agreed. "You guys go ahead, I'll just get my coat." Jondi and Max left, and Maxie picked up her coat from the other side of the room. She grinned at Alec and he smiled back, seeing how happy she was. Maxie hugged him again, and he held her tight.

                "I'm so happy for you Max." he said. As she slowly pulled away, Max's hand accidentally brushed Alec cheek, and she froze. She found herself unable to move, held up by Alec's strong arms (she was several inches shorter than him, so this was necessary for a hug) one arm supported on his shoulder, the other hand still cradling his cheek, she just starred into his eyes. Very slowly, as if in a dream, Max kissed him. Barely a touch, but it stirred feelings deep inside her that she had never even imagined. She kissed him again, and he reciprocated, holding her close. When they came apart, Alec stuttered,

                "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Max put a finger to his lips, shaking her head.

                "Don't be silly. You know it was me. I guess this is just another example of the irony that is my life." She laughed shortly, still holding onto him, as if letting go would make the world fall to pieces. Slightly tentatively, she allowed him to kiss her again. This time it was deeper, and dragged her into a whole knew world of possibilities. It was as if she had been blind her whole life and now she could see. "Alec…" she breathed, the word sounded strange on her lips in that tone. _Strange, but right_, she thought. A call from the front of the building broke through into their little world,

                "Maxie? You coming?" _Jondi_, Maxie thought. She and Alec came apart, still holding each other though. She gazed into his eyes, gave him a final kiss that was no more than the slightest contact, then broke away, heading for the door. He painfully watched her walk away, swallowed, and followed a moment later.

                Back in the safe house, Maxie was apart from the group once more. She was deep in thought, considering those few brief minutes she had spent with Alec. They had not spoken since they'd left the lab. Her mind was ablaze with a thousand questions, half of which she already knew the answers to, but was too scared to even think them. Once again, her sister broke her train of thought.

                "What's up Maxie?" she asked, sitting beside her. "It worked, shouldn't you be happy?" Maxie forced a smile.

                "Yeah. I am happy. See, smile." Jondi laughed at her sister.

                "Come on, I'm you big sis, you gotta tell me stuff." Maxie frowned.

                "No-one ever used to go on about me being younger when we were kids. Now _everyone_ calls me 'little sis' and treats me like a child!" Jondi smiled again, but knew this was a cover.

                "It's instinctive. You _are_ my little sis. But you're not gonna deflect me that easily. What's up?" Maxie sighed, annoyed again.

                "It's…"

                "Don't say complicated."

                "…hard to explain." Maxie grinned. "It's just, for the first time in over a year, I can be with Logan. But for the first time in a hell of a lot longer than a year, I'm not… I'm not entirely sure if I want to be." Jondi raised her eyebrows, confused.

                "I thought you said you loved him?"

                "I do. I'm just not sure that I'm _in love_ with him." She glanced at Jondi, and seeing that she was still confused, she continued. "He's gorgeous, he's smart, he loves me. But he can never understand me. He knows what I feel, he knows why; but he doesn't know how I feel. He can never really understand anything I do, because no matter what he's been through, he hasn't… he hasn't… he hasn't felt it. He hasn't been there, y'know, to that level. I love him, but I don't think I could spend my whole life with him in that way. 'An the crappy thing is, I didn't even realise that 'til this afternoon."

                "Oh my god." Jondi breathed. "Are you sure? I mean are you really willing to give up Logan for him?" Maxie's head snapped up to face her sister.

                "What?" Jondi smiled slightly,

                "You know I can read you like a book. That's why you guys took so long, huh? Is this the first time…?"

                "Wait, what do you mean?" Maxie wanted to be sure before she said anything incriminating,

                "You and Alec." Jondi said simply. Maxie rested her head in her hands.

                "I'd never even considered it before, but this afternoon… we kissed. It was just, I dunno, when he held my hand, I felt like nothing could ever hurt me again, because he was there. I felt safer, more welcome than I have ever felt in my life."

                "Do you love him?" Jondi asked, utterly serious. Maxie looked up again.

                "I don't know." She gasped. Jondi bit her lip, thinking.

                "Then I guess the question should be, could you ever love him?" Maxie met Jondi's eyes finally,

                "Yes. Yes I could." She breathed. Jondi smiled at her little sister,

                "Then all I can say is follow your heart."

                "Don't say anything." Maxie blurted, "I just, I'm not ready. Could you not tell Logan about the virus either? It'll give me some time to figure stuff out." Jondi just nodded, then left Maxie alone.

Hours later, after night had fallen, Mole called to Logan over the control room in terminal city.

                "Logan, you should really see this." Logan watched the screen, seeing an extraordinary sight. Three motorbikes were ploughing through the crowd outside, without hitting a single person. Protestors, police, and soldiers flew out of the way in front of the bikes, and the bullets hailing down on them from every direction were deflected before they got close.

                "Oh my god!" he exclaimed, "Is that Max?"

                "Uh-huh, and Alec. Don't know who the other chick and the passengers are though." So they just watched in awe as the bikes easily reached the gates, which sprung open ahead of them and closed behind.

                Reaching cover at last, Max dropped the force field and they all whooped and cheered.

                "That rocked!" yelled Alec, "Even with you on my bike." He added turning to Michael. He ignored the comment and gave Alec a high five. Even he couldn't say anything bad about that experience. Maxie smiled. That was fun, she thought, remembering the looks on the faces of all onlookers. They all dismounted, seeing a group rushing towards them, some heavily armed.

                "It's ok guys." Maxie called out, "It's me and Alec. These guys are friends." Logan came away from the group.

                "Max, what was that?!" He asked.

                "It's complicated. Oh, and this is my sister." She grinned, "Jondi, this is Logan."

                "Jondi?" repeated Logan, knowing how much Max had wanted to find her. "Nice to meet you." He said, shaking her hand, slightly dazed. Maxie smiled at her, then turned to the rest,

                "These guys are from out of town, but they know our deal, and they're friends. That's Max, Isabelle, Michael, and this is Jondi, my sister. Make 'em welcome people." 


	5. Up to you

Later- the control room (from here until I say otherwise, 'Max' and 'Maxie' are just DA Max.  Except if the characters are talking about Roswell Max, but that will be clear.)

When Max walked in, she was relieved to see that Logan was alone. She took a deep breath, and dove into the deep end.

                "Hey Logan." She said, a little too casually.

                "Hey yourself." He said, spinning round. "You ok?" Max sat down slowly, trying to work out how to begin.

                "Yeah. I'm fine." She bit her lip. "You talk to any of the Roswell crew yet?" Logan nodded, not sure where this was heading.

                "Yeah. I talked to Max and Jondi. Interesting bunch." They both laughed shortly. "It is really true? What they say they are?" Max nodded slowly.

                "Yep. They're the Roswell aliens. Freaky, huh? That's really what I wanted to talk to you about. Y'see, Max has healing powers." Logan nodded, he already knew this, and she continued. "Well… he healed me." Logan frowned, confused.

                "What do you mean? You got hurt?" he was worried suddenly.

                "No, no, nothing like that. I mean, he can heal other things than just wounds. I had something in me that wasn't supposed to be there, and he took it out of me." Logan's eyebrows shot up as the look of dawning understanding crept across his face.

                "The virus?" he gasped. Max nodded. "Oh my god! You're serious?" Max nodded again, but wouldn't look at him. Logan walked towards her, and tentatively reached out a hand to touch her cheek. Max willing leant into the touch she had longed for, for such a long time. His skin felt warm against hers, and he knelt down to be level with her. She finally looked up, drawn by the deep blue eyes she knew she would see. Eyes she had not seen this closely since that night so long ago. She touched his cheek in a similar fashion, brushing the rough stubble that covered it. He smiled softly, putting the other arm round her. She didn't resist, but a tear trickled down her cheek. Logan didn't understand. "Max…?" she stroked his cheek with her thumb, gazing into his eyes,

                "Logan… I can't." He shook his head.

                "What do you mean? You can't what?"

                "We can't…" getting her meaning, he shook his head again, clinging to her, as she did to him.

                "Why?"

                "We just… I love you Logan. But we cant do this." Max found that once she had started, it was easier to just keep going. "We wont work Logan. I love you, but I… I can't start all this again, when I know in my heart that we can never really work. I love you. But I am not in love with you. I think there was a time when I was, but that time has passed… our time has passed." Tears cascading down her face, in Logan's eyes, Max was more beautiful than ever before.

                "But I love you." Logan breathed. "If I love you, and you love me, then…"

                "You know its no that simple. There are always gonna be things you can't understand, and there's always gonna be someone or other on my tail. I'm always gonna put you in danger." Logan tried to interrupt, but she silenced him, and continued. "It's not just that. Every time we get close, something happens, something stops us. And hell, you know I'm not one to give up without a fight, but this time… I don't think I can survive going through all that again. The way things are now… the way they've been for a while now, I don't think you can… this sounds so awful… you can't be there for me the way I need. Its not your fault, it's no ones fault. I just… we can't be Logan, not anymore. Can't we just be friends, the way we have been for ages now? I think it's better this way." She was still crying, and Logan's eyes were wet too, but no matter how hard he tried to find her wrong, Logan couldn't. He knew that what she was saying was the truth. They could never be what the other really needed. She would always have things that she couldn't explain to him and he would always slow her down, probably get her hurt. However much it hurt, Max was right. But he wasn't going to tell her that just yet.

                "We could still try. We love each other, Max…"

                "Please don't make this harder. Logan please. I will always love you, and maybe this is totally the wrong time to finally tell you that, but you know I'm right." Logan nodded slowly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Then something occurred to him.

                "Is there someone else?" Max broke eye contact.

                "Not exactly. There could be, but I haven't actually talked to him about it yet." Logan laughed softly at this. She smiled. " I know it sounds dumb." She said, her eyes beginning to dry up.

                "And you think it will work better with him?" Logan couldn't help but ask. Max nodded slowly.

                "I think it might." She shrugged. "Or maybe not, but I think I should give it a go. You wont be jealous, will you? Or mean?" He shook his head,

                "No. It's ok. I understand. You are right, I guess I just didn't want to admit it." He leant towards her, and Max pulled back, a little shocked. He smiled, then kissed her on the cheek.

                "Sorry." She smiled. And kissed him back. They broke apart, and Max headed for the door. Just as she reached it, she turned back round. "Just in case you didn't notice, Asha is totally hot for you. K?" she grinned. He laughed shortly, and smiled back.

                "Thanks." He said. Max left, smiling. Alec, across the large room she'd just entered, saw her face, and it wrenched at his insides. In the back of his mind, there was a mocking voice, laughing in disbelief that he had ever thought that Max might pick him. 

                "You aight Bu?" Cindy asked, joining Max out on the roof where she liked to sit. Max smiled genuinely.

                "Yeah, I'm good." She answered. Cindy smiled.

                "So you talked to Logan then? Or more than talked…" she grinned. Max smiled at her friend.

                "You got it all wrong sweetie." She said. "I told him that we can't be together."

                "But you said that Max got rid of the virus."

                "Yeah. He did. But Logan and I, we just… I love him, and I probably always will, but I am not in love with him."

                "You sure?" Cindy was shaken. Max had told her that she wasn't totally sure about what to do, and that there was another guy involved, but no more. "So you gonna tell me about mystery boy?" Max laughed a little.

                "You wouldn't believe me if I did." Cindy cocked her head to one side.

                "Uh-uh. You don't get away that easily. Come on, when did you meet him?"

                "I've known him ages." Cindy bit her lip, thinking of the fastest way to the truth.

                "Ok then, when did you realise you liked him?" Max grinned at this, knowing Cindy was an expert at this sort of 'game'. 

                "Yesterday." She said simply.

                "Yesterday? But most of yesterday it was just you, Alec and the Roswell bunch."

                "Uh-huh." Cindy thought a little more.

                "Well it can't be Max, cos, no.1, serious name confusion, and 2, I know you wouldn't do that to Jondi. You said that Michael had a girl back home, huh, and you only met them yesturday, so that just leaves… Bu, did you hop onto the other team without telling me?" Max laughed, amazed at the depth of her friends denial.

                "No!" she said, nudging Cindy.

                "But Bu, if it's one of them;" Max nodded. "And you ain't a lesbo." Max shook her head. "And it ain't Max or Michael." Another shake. "Then that just leaves…" she didn't need to say it, and just looked at Max, doubtfully. Max's cheeks were glowing pink, and the smile on her face was sweet, almost innocent. "You're serious, huh?" Max nodded. "We are talking about the same guy, right? Annoying, looks a lot like one o' your brothers…" Max laughed again, nodding. "And you think it can work better than the alternative?"

                "I really think it might." Alec, heading to the roof, froze when he heard the girls' voices. "I just don't think the 'alternative' would be able to really go anywhere. I thought it might, but it couldn't. You get me?" Cindy smiled and nodded.

                "I get you girl. An' if that's what your heart tells you, then even if there's gonna be difficulties, it's probably the right choice. I know he cares about you, that's for sure." Alec couldn't take anymore. He went back inside, cursing himself and his stupid human weakness. " The only thing is, do you really think you could ever love him?"

                "I really think I could. In some ways I already do. This is what I want. I want to be with Alec."

Later that evening, Alec was sitting alone on his bed in his small room, reading, when there was a knock on the door.

                "Who is it?" he called

                "It's me." Came the voice he would know anywhere. He clumsily dropped the book onto the chair nearby.

                "Oh. Come in." he stuttered, cursing himself again. Max entered cautiously, unsure of exactly how to start this conversation either.

                "Hey." She said.

                "Hey." He was shocked even now at the effect her presence had on him. He'd always liked Max, but after feeling her touch, the sight of her face, so close, was enough to stop the very breath in his throat.

                "So I talked to Logan." Max managed. Alec nodded.

                "Right. I'm really happy for you guys. I hope you're…" she stopped his desperately calm babble.

                "Alec." He met her eyes, guided by the force of her voice. "I told him that we can't be together. That we just can't work, and that there might be someone else…" He gazed at her in astonishment. "I mean, if it's ok with you, I thought, maybe, y'know, we could give it a try?" without taking his eyes off hers, Alec pinched his arm, and flinched.

                "Huh. Not dreaming."

                "No." she smiled. "Not dreaming."

                "Are you sure this is what you want? I heard you talking to Cindy, and you said, it sounded like you said…" Max frowned, trying to work out what he might have heard_. "I just don't think the 'alternative' would be able to really go anywhere. I thought it might, but it couldn't. You get me?"_

_                "I get you girl. An' if that's what your heart tells you, then even if  there's gonna be difficulties, it's probably the right choice. I know he cares about you, that's for sure."_ Max smiled.

                "Dumb ass. You left too early. If you'd stayed, you'd also have heard me say exactly who I meant." He was still confused, but Max was walking towards him. "I said that this is what I want." She was right in front of him now. "I want to be with _you._" Alec swallowed, and reached out to her as she put a hand on each shoulder. He encircled her waist as she lowered herself to kneel across his lap, a knee on either side. Their breath mingling, she finished "So it's all up to you. A simple 'yes' or 'no'." she draped her arms round his neck, starring into his eyes. Alec swallowed again,

            "Yes." he said, and kissed her.

Hee hee! Max and Alec… there's more of these to come… not continuations, so far, but more possibilities.


End file.
